Fisher went to Central Michigan, that is a D1 school. He didn't play in a big conference, but it's still D1 and Joe Staley the starting LT for the 49ers was drafted out of CMU back in 2007.

March 16th, 2013, 12:35 am

DJ-B

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: April 5th, 2007, 5:51 pmPosts: 2347

Re: Backus Retires

Growler wrote:

Does anyone know why Backus chose to retire? Did the Lions push him out or did he just wake up one morning feeling chronic aches and pains and conclude that he didn't feel like putting on his cleats anymore? If the Lions pushed him out, why not wait until after the draft? (Now every team knows that we are a serious contender for one of the OTs.)

He had a roster bonus of .5m coming up soon. Not sure if that means they pushed him out, but the timingpoints to it at least being mutual. Either way both sides handled it with class.

WMU actually puts out a few guys every so often. Babin and Scheff also come from WMU.

March 16th, 2013, 11:41 am

Boz

Varsity Captain

Joined: September 28th, 2011, 5:57 pmPosts: 325

Re: Backus Retires

Opps, the kids went to CMU and I actually lived in KZOO when Delmas was playing. Why do you think they call it dope

March 16th, 2013, 12:05 pm

thelomasbrowns

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2539

Re: Backus Retires

Re: Reiff--I believe the game he started was possibly our best of the year offensively, with the exception of the Seattle game (Jacksonville doesn't count). We also had that huge run by Bell. Nobody seems to point that out.

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

March 16th, 2013, 6:26 pm

conversion02

RIP Killer

Joined: January 26th, 2005, 9:34 pmPosts: 10493Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: Backus Retires

Don't let wjb hear that. He's said multiple times that Reiff was awful in that game and that he was the brown spot on the line.

Don't let wjb hear that. He's said multiple times that Reiff was awful in that game and that he was the brown spot on the line.

Pull it up and watch it. IMO he looked like hell.

I have the coaches and FO behind me. They rushed Backus back from injury, and he never played another game.

March 16th, 2013, 9:52 pm

conversion02

RIP Killer

Joined: January 26th, 2005, 9:34 pmPosts: 10493Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: Backus Retires

I did and I disagree. He had his moments, yes, but he was far from looking "like hell"

Also, how are the coaches and FO behind you based on Schwartz and Mathews recent comments on how much they like Reiff and he's a true LT? If they thought Reiff sucked, he wouldn't have played as much as he did last year and they certainly would have talked backus into staying, not to mention they would be bringing in FA LTs, which they're not. Heard any rumors of a saffold trade? Jake long isn't around Allen park. How about Winston justice? Why isn't he in Detroit then?

I did and I disagree. He had his moments, yes, but he was far from looking "like hell"

Also, how are the coaches and FO behind you based on Schwartz and Mathews recent comments on how much they like Reiff and he's a true LT? If they thought Reiff sucked, he wouldn't have played as much as he did last year and they certainly would have talked backus into staying, not to mention they would be bringing in FA LTs, which they're not. Heard any rumors of a saffold trade? Jake long isn't around Allen park. How about Winston justice? Why isn't he in Detroit then?

I watched the game and didn't think Reiff did that bad considering he was a rookie LT playing his first start. Now I didn't break down the game and specifically watch everyone of Reiff's snaps but he didn't bring any attention to himself either. As a Hawkeye fan I got so all of Reiff's college games as well. While he never lit the world on fire he was still a very good line man. Reiff never got noticed and to me a LT that goes unnoticed is just fine by me.

_________________

March 16th, 2013, 10:20 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Backus Retires

conversion02 wrote:

I did and I disagree. He had his moments, yes, but he was far from looking "like hell"

Also, how are the coaches and FO behind you based on Schwartz and Mathews recent comments on how much they like Reiff and he's a true LT? If they thought Reiff sucked, he wouldn't have played as much as he did last year and they certainly would have talked backus into staying, not to mention they would be bringing in FA LTs, which they're not. Heard any rumors of a saffold trade? Jake long isn't around Allen park. How about Winston justice? Why isn't he in Detroit then?

The FO just came out and said they were looking at him as an OG before Backus retired. I see their recent endorsement as a smoke screen for what they're planning on doing in the draft.

We can't afford Long, or WJ... I wouldn't want Saffold...

March 17th, 2013, 1:57 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Backus Retires

CMWSR wrote:

conversion02 wrote:

I did and I disagree. He had his moments, yes, but he was far from looking "like hell"

Also, how are the coaches and FO behind you based on Schwartz and Mathews recent comments on how much they like Reiff and he's a true LT? If they thought Reiff sucked, he wouldn't have played as much as he did last year and they certainly would have talked backus into staying, not to mention they would be bringing in FA LTs, which they're not. Heard any rumors of a saffold trade? Jake long isn't around Allen park. How about Winston justice? Why isn't he in Detroit then?

I watched the game and didn't think Reiff did that bad considering he was a rookie LT playing his first start. Now I didn't break down the game and specifically watch everyone of Reiff's snaps but he didn't bring any attention to himself either. As a Hawkeye fan I got so all of Reiff's college games as well. While he never lit the world on fire he was still a very good line man. Reiff never got noticed and to me a LT that goes unnoticed is just fine by me.

I went to Iowa and saw Reiff play in college. I thought he looked really good in NCAA, but he looks over-whelmed by the NFL. Maybe that changes in year 2?

FWIW... He's somewhat of a friend of the family. He got my cousin some great seats for a game last year. I like the guy, I just don't think he's capable of playing quality LT at this point in his career.

March 17th, 2013, 1:59 pm

kdsberman

Team MVP

Joined: February 20th, 2007, 10:51 pmPosts: 3426Location: Saginaw, MI

Re: Backus Retires

The front office never said anything about Reiff to guard, it was a report. You get a lot of those during draft season.